This summer season in Spain has been the hottest in its data series. In addition, last August was very hot: the second hottest since records have been kept, according to data from the Spanish Meteorological Agency.

TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has just made public that the last meteorological summer (June, July and August 2022) in Spain has been the warmest in its series, which began in 1961, with an average anomaly of +2.2 ºC. This is 0.4 ºC warmer than the previous warmest summer, which was, until now, that of 2003.

August was very warm overall, with an average temperature in peninsular Spain of 24.7 °C, 2.0 °C above the average for this month (reference period taken from 1981 to 2010). This was the second warmest August since the beginning of the series in 1961, and therefore also of the 21st century, behind only August 2003.

Last month was extremely warm in the centre and southeast quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula, and very warm in the rest of mainland Spain, with the exception of the extreme west of Andalusia, where it was warm or normal. In the Balearic Islands, it was very warm, while in the Canary Islands it was warm or very warm in most areas.

The most notable thermal anomalies were around +3 °C in large areas of southern Galicia, Castile and Leon, the Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, Aragon, Catalonia, Madrid, eastern Extremadura, northern and western Castile-La Mancha, central and northern Valencia and eastern Andalusia. Values close to +4 °C were reached in some parts of these regions.

Daily maximum temperatures were on average 2.1 °C above normal, while minimum temperatures were 1.8 °C above average. The daily temperature variation was 0.3 °C above normal for the month.

There was a heat wave over the peninsula and the Balearic Islands between 30 July and 15 August, extending to 27 provinces.

With the data currently available, the AEMET considers that there was a heat wave in the peninsula and the Balearic Islands between 30 July and 15 August, with an anomaly of 3.8 ºC, a maximum temperature of the wave of 36.1 ºC and an extension to 27 provinces.

August was not a dry month, with some exceptions
The past month has been normal in terms of precipitation, with an average precipitation value in peninsular Spain of 21.8 mm, 96 % of the normal value for the month. In the Canary Islands, it was the third wettest August since the beginning of the series, behind August 2005 and 2015.

August has been between normal and wet in most of the Peninsula, with the exception of Galicia, eastern Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarre, a large part of Huesca, Castellón, Extremadura and Toledo, where it has been dry or very dry.

On the other hand, it was very wet in parts of the Huesca Pyrenees, Catalonia, parts of Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia and the Canary Islands. In the Balearic Islands, the month presented a marked contrast between the islands, being wet or very wet on the island of Menorca and the north of Majorca and dry in the rest of the archipelago.